Selections from Galpaguchchha (Box)

This three-volume English translation by Ratan Kumar Chattopadhyay called Selections from Galpaguchchha is a collection of sixty-one of Tagores short stories broadly grouped under the themes of parting of ways, the relationship between men and women, and the power within the woman, respectively.Volume 1 includes memorable stories like the ‘The Pedlar from Kabul, ‘Broken Nest, ‘Punishment and ‘The Postmaster. In the first, an Afghan hawker, Rahmat, comes to Calcutta and befriends five-year-old Mini, who reminds him of his own daughter back home. While ‘Broken Nest is a story of a lonely urban housewifes friendship with her brother-in-law and her overwhelming sense of loss when the relationship ends abruptly, ‘Punishment set in rural Bengal is a poignant story of young Chandora and her grim resolve when her husband, to save his brother, persuades her to own up to a murder she did not commit.In Volume 2, we find the ever- popular ‘Ramkanais Folly, ‘The Ghats Story, ‘Woman Bereft of Jewels, ‘Grandfather, and ‘The Matronly Boy, among other stories. The travails of a timid man of indomitable honesty who attains a tragic heroism are narrated in ‘Ramkanais Folly, while the theme of ‘The Ghats Story is the unstated, forbidden love of a young woman for a hermit who may or may not be her long-lost husband. The frisson in the haunting climax of the ‘Woman Bereft of Jewels, a horrifying morality tale of egotism and greed, is justly famous. Volume 3, the last in this series, is studded with gems such as ‘Hungry Stones, ‘The Wifes Letter, ‘The Story of a Muslim Woman, ‘Hidden Treasure and At Dead of Night. The theme of ‘Hungry Stones is a tale hovering between dream and reality involving palace intrigue and unrequited love, and in ‘The Wifes Letter, Mrinal breaks free from the stifling marital ties of fifteen years in what is an indictment of existing gender relations. A traditional Hindu girl out of gratitude for her elderly Muslim protector embraces his religion and falls in love with his son in ‘The Story of a Muslim Woman.